Lock-in training system

ABSTRACT

A Lock-In Training system. The Lock-In Training system can include an appropriately programmed Web site and a user computer. The Lock-In Training system can also include an appropriately programmed stand-alone computer. Some embodiments of the invention allow student users to efficiently learn materials by taking Lock-In Training courses. A Lock-In Training course may include one or more Lock-In Training sessions. These sessions may include one or more Lock-In Training parts. These parts can include a group of questions and answers. The answers can include one or more keywords. A student user can lock-in material by entering keywords in response to questions. The questions may be presented in Introductory rounds and/or Retention rounds on one or more training days.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/815,341, entitled “METHODS OF SELECTING LOCK-IN TRAINING COURSES ANDSESSIONS” by inventor Dennis R. Berman, which was filed on Mar. 31,2004.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system and method for a memory building andretention process and, more particularly, to a method and system forhelping a user to learn, memorize, and retain unfamiliar materials.

2. BACKGROUND

Learning is an ongoing process in life that requires continuousmemorization and retention of new concepts, ideas, terms, names, etc.Although a variety of methods have been developed for building memory,it is a constant search for finding an effective and faster way forenhancing people's memorization process for their daily uses.

Learning by reading and/or by classroom instruction has been theconventional learning method for centuries. A provided learning materialmay contain sufficient explanatory contents to help a learner tounderstand and memorize the subject matter. However, purely reading thelearning material and/or receiving classroom instruction related to thematerial is not the best way to quickly memorize the new conceptscontained because a huge portion of the learning material is used notfor helping the learner to memorize the concepts, but for helping thelearner to understand the concepts. Therefore, the learner may bedistracted in her learning process to grasp the gist of the learningmaterial. It is thus not uncommon that although, in a learning process,the concept may have to be explained in detail paragraph afterparagraph, the gist of the concept may only hinge on a few keywords.Consequently, to learn or to memorize the new concept depends on howwell a learner can memorize the keywords. Therefore, a learning platformdesigned to help the learner to quickly grasp and master the newconcepts extracted from the learning material will significantly speedup the learning process.

Further, in the context of training, after the learners are expected tohave memorized concepts conveyed in the learning material, it is verydifficult to benchmark how much of the learning material the learnershave actually mastered. For example, a multiple-choice test may bedesigned and given to the learners to check how well the learners havelearned. However, it is well known that it is a common practice for thelearner to guess the answer when she encounters a subject that she knowsvery little about during a multiple-choice exam. She might lack theknowledge to answer the question, but she may be lucky to get the answerright. Further, she may also get some of the answers right just becausethe answer is clearly shown in the provided choices and she is hinted.As such, the value of the multiple-choice exam is only good to a certainextent. When it is required that the learners must know all the materialbeing taught, or a testing authority must be assured that certainconcepts in the learning material must be mastered by the learner, themultiple choice test is obviously not the best choice.

What is needed, therefore, is a method and system for learning andretaining unfamiliar materials for short- and long-term immediaterecall.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention is a Lock-In Training system. The systemcan include an appropriately programmed Web site and a user computer.The Lock-In Training system can also include an appropriately programmedstand-alone computer. Some embodiments of the invention allow studentusers to efficiently learn materials by taking Lock-In Training courses.A Lock-In Training course may include one or more Lock-In Trainingsessions. These sessions may include one or more Lock-In Training parts.These parts can include a group of questions and answers. The answerscan include one or more keywords. A student user can lock-in material byentering keywords in response to questions. The questions may bepresented in Introductory rounds and/or Retention rounds on one or moretraining days.

Other embodiments of the invention include the computer programs anddatabases that enable student users to take efficient training coursesas well as the methods performed by the computer systems during thetraining courses.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A presents a block diagram illustrating the primary components ofa system that operates in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1B presents a database.

FIG. 2 presents a registration screen display.

FIG. 3 presents another registration screen display.

FIG. 4 presents yet another registration screen display.

FIG. 5 presents still another registration screen display.

FIG. 6 presents a screen display that allows a student user to select aLock-In Training course.

FIG. 7 presents a screen display that allows a student user to select aLock-In Training session.

FIGS. 8 through 16 present screen displays from an Introductory round ofa Lock-In Training course.

FIG. 17 presents a screen that informs a student that the student userhas completed an Introductory round of a Lock-In Training course.

FIGS. 18 through 22 present screen displays from a Retention round of aLock-In Training course.

FIG. 23 presents a block diagram illustrating the primary components ofa system that operates in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context ofa particular application and its requirements. Various modifications tothe disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied toother embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosedherein.

5.1 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

The following terms and acronyms are used throughout the detaileddescription:

ASP (Active Serve Page). An HTML page that includes one or more smallembedded programs, known as scripts, which are processed on a Web serverbefore the HTML page is served to a Web browser. Typically, the Webserver utilizes data from a database to build the HTML page beforeserving the HTML page to the Web browser.

Cookies. A technology that enables a Web server to retrieve informationfrom a consumer's computer that reveals prior browsing activities of theconsumer. The informational item stored on the consumer's computer(typically on the hard drive) is commonly referred to as a “cookie.”Many standard Web browsers support the use of cookies.

Database. A collection of information organized in such a way that acomputer program can store, and/or retrieve desired pieces ofinformation.

Dynamic HTML. HTML extensions that enable a Web document to react touser input without sending requests to a Web server.

Element. In markup languages such as HTML, the combination of a set oftags, any content contained between the tags, and any attributes thetags may have. One example of an element is an object.

Foreign key. A column or combination of columns whose values match theprimary key of some other table. See (Primary key and Database).

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). A standard coding convention and setof codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes toinformational content within documents. During a document authoringstage, the HTML codes (referred to as “tags”) are embedded within theinformational content of the document. When the Web document (or HTMLdocument) is subsequently transferred from a Web server to a Webbrowser, the codes are interpreted by the Web browser and used to parseand display the document. Additionally, in specifying how the Webbrowser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to createhyperlinks to other Web documents. For more information on HTML, see IanS. Graham, The HTML Source Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN0471-11894-4).

HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol). The standard World Wide Webclient-server protocol used for the exchange of information (such asHTML documents and client requests for such documents) between a Webbrowser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of different types ofmessages that can be sent from the client to the server to requestdifferent types of server actions. For example, a “GET” message, whichhas the format GET <URL>, causes the server to return the document orfile located at the specified URL.

Hyperlink. A navigational link from one document to another, or from oneportion (or component) of a document to another. Typically, a hyperlinkis displayed as a highlighted word or phrase that can be selected byclicking on it using a mouse to jump to the associated document orportion.

Hypertext System. A computer-based informational system in whichdocuments (and possibly other types of data entities) are linkedtogether via hyperlinks to form a consumer navigable “web.”

Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or private)networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols (suchas TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed network. (While thisterm is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet,it is also intended to encompass variations that may be made in thefuture, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols.)

Intranet. A network belonging to an organization, usually a corporation,accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others withauthorization. An intranet's Web sites look and act just like any otherWeb sites, but a firewall surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorizedusers.

JavaScript. A scripting language developed by Netscape that enables Webauthors to design interactive Web sites. See Dynamic HTML above.

Object. Any item that can be individually selected and/or manipulated.An object can include hyperlinks, shapes and pictures that appear on adisplay screen, as well as less tangible software entities.

Primary Key. In databases, the column or combination of columns thatserve(s) as the unique identifier of a specific row in a database table.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A unique address which fully specifiesthe location of a file or other resource on the Internet. The generalformat of a URL is “protocol://machine address:port/path/filename.” Theport specification is optional, and if the consumer specifies none, theWeb browser defaults to the standard port for the protocol. For example,if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the Web browser will use the HTTPdefault port of 80.

Web Site. A computer system that serves informational content over anetwork using the standard protocols of the World Wide Web. Typically, aWeb site corresponds to a particular Internet or Intranet domain name,such as “www.trivac.com,” and includes the content associated with aparticular organization. As used herein, the term is generally intendedto encompass both (i) the hardware/software server components that servethe informational content over the network, and (ii) the “back end”hardware/software components, including any non-standard or specializedcomponents, that interact with the server components to performservices.

World Wide Web (“Web”). Used to refer generally to both (i) adistributed collection of interlinked, viewable hypertext documents(commonly referred to as Web documents or Web pages) that are accessiblevia the Internet, and (ii) the client and server software componentsthat provide consumer access to such documents using standardizedInternet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol forallowing applications to locate and acquire Web documents is HTTP, andthe Web pages are encoded using HTML. However, the terms “Web” and“World Wide Web” are intended to encompass future markup languages andtransport protocols that may be used in place of (or in addition to)HTML and HTTP.

5.2 System Components

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified block diagram of a user computer 105and a Lock-In Training Web site 110, both of which are linked togetherby the Internet 115 or an Intranet (not shown). Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the block diagram of FIG. 1A is simplified toillustrate only those functional elements of interest in describing thepresent invention.

5.3 User Computer

The user computer 105 is conventional. The user computer 105 may be anytype of computing device that allows a consumer to interactively browseWeb sites on the World Wide Web via a Web browser. For example, the usercomputer 105 may be a personal computer (PC) that runs a Windowsoperating system, an Apple computer, that runs an Apple operatingsystem, a Web appliance, a hand held computer, or even a telephone. Theuser computer 105 typically includes a Web browser 120, such asMicrosoft's Internet Explorer, which uses the HTTP protocol tocommunicate with Web servers. As is well known, the Web browser 120 canrequest, receive, and display Web documents 125 as well as other dataentities, such as audio, video, and/or image documents. If printing ofWeb documents or other documents is desired, then the user computer 105may also include a printer 130.

5.4 Lock-In Training Web site

Generally, the Lock-In Training Web site 10 provides functionality forallowing users to learn, memorize, and retain unfamiliar materials. Morespecifically, the Lock-In Training Web site 110 includes a Web server140 that allows a user to retrieve a plurality of Web documents 150. TheLock-In Training Web site also contains a computer program 145 thatposts a series of Web documents 150, such as HTML documents and/orDynamic HTML documents. In some embodiments of the invention, theLock-In Training Web site generates HTML documents and Dynamic HTMLdocuments from ASP documents and one or more databases, such as database155. The Lock-In Training Web site 110 is a web site that allows usersto enter and receive data as will be discussed more fully below. Thecomputer program 145 and the database 155 can be stored in programstorage devices such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, flashmemory, DVD disks, CDROM disks, etc.

5.5 Courses, Sessions, Parts, and Rounds

Generally, the Lock-In Training Web site allows a number of users totake Lock-In Training courses. A Lock-In Training course typicallyrelates to a general subject area. For example, a course may relate tothe Presidents of the United States. Such a course can include one ormore Lock-In Training sessions, which often relate to more specificsubject areas. For example, a course related to the Presidents of theUnited States could include a first session related to the Presidentsbefore the Civil War and a second session related to the Presidentsafter the Civil War.

A Lock-In Training session may include one or more parts. A parttypically includes a group of “questions” and “answers.” For example, aquestion may be “Who was the first President?” Similarly, an answer maybe “The first President was George Washington.” Each answer can includeone or more keywords, i.e., significant words within the answer that maybe utilized to convey the answer. The keywords in the above answer are“first” and “George Washington.”

When a student user utilizes the Lock-In Training Web site, the user canbe introduced to the material to be learned in an Introductory round. Inthe Introductory round, a student user typically reviews questions andanswers, re-types the answers, and then answers the question with orwithout hints.

After the student user completes the Introductory round, the studentuser can take one or more Retention rounds. The purpose of the Retentionrounds is to lock-in the material into the user's long-term memory. In aRetention round, the student user typically answers the questions withor without hints. As will be discussed below, in order to complete theRetention rounds, the student user must successfully answer thequestions according to pre-defined criteria.

5.6 Lock-In Training Web Site Database

As shown in FIG. 1A, the Lock-In Training Web site 110 can include adatabase 155. This database 155 can contain a number of tables. Oneexample of database 155 is shown in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1B, the table namesare italicized. In addition, the table primary keys are bolded and thetable foreign keys are underlined. As discussed, in Section 5.1, aprimary key provides a unique identifier of a specific row in a databasetable. Similarly, a foreign key is a database column whose value matchesthe primary key of another table.

One table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Clients” table. Thistable can be utilized to store information about Lock-In Trainingclients. Typical clients may include employers, training institutions,elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, governmentagencies, and military branches, among others. The “Clients” table shownin FIG. 1B contains a primary key, “ClientID.” The “Clients” tablecontains three columns. The first column, “ClientName,” can store thename of a client, such as “IBM,” “Starbucks,” “Palo Alto School System,”etc. The second column, “SessionDays,” can store the number of days oftraining that a student must take to fully complete a Lock-In Trainingsession or course. For example, a session that includes three days oftraining could have “SessionDays” set to three. Alternatively, a sessionthat takes four days to complete could have “SessionDays” set to four.Lower values of “SessionDays” require less student time, while highervalues of “SessionDays” ensure higher retention of learned materials.Depending upon client preferences, a client can specify, via“SessionDays,” the desired number of training days for courses orsessions taken by the client's students. The third column,“DaySessions,” can be used to control the training sequence of severalmulti-day sessions. For example, a Lock-In Training course may includethree sessions, such as sessions A, B and C, each of which are takenover a number of days. For such a course, a “DaySessions” value of twocould indicate that a student must complete the first training day ofsessions A and B before taking the second training day of either sessionA or session B. However, the student could take the first training dayof session C before taking any training days of either session A or B.On the other hand, if the “Day Sessions” value was three, then thestudent could not take the second training day of sessions A, B, or Cuntil the student has completed the first training day of sessions A, B,and C. Similarly, if the “Day Sessions” value was zero, then a studentcould take all of the training days of session A before taking any daysof sessions B or C.

Another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Courses” table.This table is utilized to store information about Lock-In Trainingcourses. The table contains a primary key “CourseID” and two columns.The first column, “CourseName,” can store names of a Lock-In Trainingcourse. Example course names include “Presidents of the United States,”“Governors of the States,” and “Largest Cities in Texas.” The secondcolumn, “CourseGroup,” can store course groupings. For example, theabove three courses could be grouped by a client administrator or by asystem administrator under “American History.”

Yet another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the“ClientProfiles” table. The “ClientProfiles” table can be utilized tocustomize the graphical user interface of Lock-In Training courses forclients. The “ClientProfiles” table contains a primary key“ClientProfile” and four columns. The first column is a foreign key,“ClientID.” The second column “ActiveProfile,” can store data indicatingwhether a client has an active graphical user interface. For example, ifa client desires a customized graphical user interface, then“ActiveProfile” could be set to “true.” On the other hand, if a clientdoes not desire to utilize a custom graphical user interface, then“ActiveProfile” could be set to “false.” The third column,“HeaderImage,” can store a file name that contains a customized image.This customized image can be utilized to create a portion of acustomized graphical user interface, such as a custom header. The fourthcolumn, “HeaderLocation,” can store horizontal and vertical screenlocations that can be utilized to position the customized image on thecomputer screen of the user computer 105. Other embodiments of thedatabase include columns for other images, such as footer images, otherimage locations, background images, custom color schemes, custom fonts,custom font sizes, custom text, custom objects, and other graphical userinterface elements.

Still another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the“ClientCourses” table. This table contains information related toLock-In Training courses that are associated with a particular client.As shown in FIG. 1B, the “ClientCourses” table contains a primary key“ClientCourse” and two foreign keys: “ClientID” and “CourseID.”

Another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Sessions” table.The “Sessions” table provides information about a Lock-In Trainingsession. The “Sessions” table contains a primary key “SessionID.” Inaddition, the table contains five columns. The first column is a foreignkey, “ClientID.” The second column “SessionNum,” can store the number ofa session. For example, the first, second, and third sessions of aLock-In Training course could be indicated by “SessionNum” values of 1,2, and 3. The third column “SessionTitle,” can store titles of sessions.For example, a title of a session could be “Presidents of the UnitedStates before the Civil War.” The fourth column “SessionDescription,”can store descriptions of sessions. For example, a session descriptioncould be “The names of the sixteen Presidents of the United Statesbefore the Civil War.” The fifth column “LockoutPeriod” can be utilizedto inactivate sessions until a specified period of time has passed sothat spaced repetition of training sessions can be assured. Morespecifically, “LockoutPeriod” can store the length of a time period thatmust transpire between portions of sessions. For example,“LockoutPeriod” could indicate the required time between the completionof a prior day's session and the beginning of a current day's session.Alternatively, “LockoutPeriod” could indicate the required time betweenthe beginning of a prior day's session and the beginning of a currentday's session. Thus, “LockoutPeriod” can be utilized to ensure that astudent does not take portions of Lock-In Training sessions too rapidly.If such a time period has not transpired, then a session (or a course)can be inactivated so that the student cannot take the remainingportions of the sessions until the “LockoutPeriod” has transpired. Aswill be discussed below, long-term retention of materials can beincreased if spaced repetitions of Lock-In Training sessions occur.

Still another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Users”table. This table can be utilized to store information on users of theLock-In Training system. Typical users include private and publicemployees, elementary students, middle school students, high schoolstudents, college students, military personnel and law enforcementpersonnel. The “Users” table contains a primary key “UserID.” Inaddition, the table contains fifteen columns. The first column is aforeign key, “ClientID.” The second and third columns, “FirstName” and“LastName,” can store the first and last names of a user. For example,FirstName could store “John” and “LastName” could store “Smith.” Otherembodiments of the database 155 could include an additional column forstoring the middle name or the middle initial of users. The fourth andfifth columns “UserName” and “Password,” can be utilized to rapidlylogin a user into the Lock-In Training system. For example, a user namedJohn Smith could utilize “jsmith” and “Monsoon1$” to rapidly login intothe Lock-In Training system. Other embodiments of the invention couldalso include other columns that contain information utilized to login auser into the Lock-In Training Website. For example, the table couldcontain columns holding user's biometric information, such asfingerprints, voice patterns, eye patterns, etc. The sixth column,“UserType,” can be utilized to indicate whether the user is a student, aclient administrator, a system administrator, or another type of user.Student users take Lock-In Training sessions. As discussed below, therights and privileges of users can depend upon the user's UserType.Client administrators typically have the ability to configure Lock-InTraining courses, add or remove student users, and assign Lock-InTraining courses to student users. Similarly, system administratorstypically have the ability to add or remove clients and some or all ofthe rights and privileges of client administrators. The seventh column,“Inactive,” can be utilized to indicate inactive users, such as usersthat are no longer employed by a client. Such users may include, forexample, users that have not accessed the Lock-In Training Web site fora predetermined period of time or users that have a “ClientID”associated with a delinquent client. The eighth and ninth columns of the“Users” table, “ResetPW” and Registered,” can be utilized to store useradministrative data. For example, “ResetPW” can be utilized to indicateif the computer program 145, a client administrator, or a systemadministrator assigned the user's password or alternatively if the userhas reset the user's password. Thus, if the user has reset the user'spassword, then “ResetPW” value could be set to “true;” otherwise, the“ResetPW” value could be set to “false.” In addition, “Registered” canbe utilized to indicate whether the user has registered with the Lock-InTraining Web site 110. The remaining columns in the “Users” table canhold various information about the user, such as: the user's email,telephone number, street address, city, state, and zip code.

Still another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the“UserCourses” table. This table contains a primary key, “UserCourse,”and eight columns. The first two columns are foreign keys: “UserID” and“CourseID.” The third column, “CourseOrder,” can be utilized to sequencecourses for student users. For example, student users may have a numberof different courses assigned to them, such as: American History I,American History II, and American History III. These three courses maybe assigned “CourseOrder” values of one, two, and three respectively.Thus, the “CourseOrder” values could be utilized to ensure that thestudent takes American History I before American History II, or AmericanHistory III. Alternatively, if the courses could be taken in any order,then “CourseOrder” for those courses could be set to zero. The fourthcolumn in the “User Courses” table is “Activated.” The “Activated” valuecan be utilized to indicate whether a particular course is available toa user. The fifth column in the “User Courses” table is “Completed.” The“Completed” column can be utilized to indicate whether a user haspreviously completed a course. The final three columns can be utilizedto store course enrollment dates, course start (begin) dates, and coursecompletion dates.

Yet another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “UserSessions”table. The “User Sessions” table can be utilized to store informationregarding a user's training session activities. The “User Sessions”table contains a primary key “UserSession.” In addition, the tablecontains eight columns, which include two foreign keys, “UserID” and“SessionID.” The third column, “DayNum,” can store information relatingto the user's training activities. For example, if the user hascompleted a session's first day of training, then “DayNum” could be one.Similarly, if the user has completed a session's first and second daysof training, then “DayNum” could be two. The next two columns,“StartTime” and “EndTime,” could store the start and end times of auser's session activities. These columns could be utilized to determineif a user has complied with a session's “LockoutPeriod” requirement. Theseventh column, “Timeouts,” could store the time period since the userhas entered any information into the user computer 105, via computerkeyboard, mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, microphone, orotherwise. The final column, “Cancelled,” could indicate that a user'ssession has been canceled because, for example, the user's “Timeouts”exceeded a predefined time period.

Another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Parts” table.This table can store information related to a Lock-In Training session'sparts. This table contains a primary key “PartID.” In addition, thetable contains three columns, one of which is a foreign key,“SessionID.” The second column, “PartNum,” can be utilized to sequencethe parts within a session. For example, a Lock-In Training session mayinclude a number of different parts, such as: “U.S. Presidents 1-8” and“U.S. Presidents 9-16.” These parts may be assigned “PartNum” values ofone and two respectively. Thus, the “PartNum” values could be utilizedto ensure that the student user takes “U.S. Presidents 1-8” before “U.S.Presidents 9-16.” Alternatively, if the parts can be taken in any order,then they both could be assigned a “PartNum” of zero. The final columnin the Parts table, “PartTitle,” can be utilized to store the title of apart, such as “U.S. Presidents 1-8.”

Still another table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “Questions”table. This table can store information related to questions and answersthat will be presented to student users. The “Questions” table includesa primary key, “QuestionID.” In addition, the table includes sixcolumns. The first column is a foreign key, “PartID.” The next threecolumns can be utilized to store question numbers, question titles, andquestions. Thus, question number 1 could have a title “The firstPresident of the United States.” Similarly, “Question” number 1 could be“Who is the first President of the United States?” The fifth column,“Answer,” can be utilized to store the answers to questions. The“Answer” to “Question” number 1 could be “The first President of theUnited States was George Washington.” The last column in the “Questions”table, “Keywords,” can be used to store the keywords of a question. Thekeywords for the above “Answer” could be “first,” “George,” and“Washington.” In some embodiments of the invention, the “Answer”includes one or more codes that indicate the keywords. For example, the“Answer” to “Question” number 1 could be “The %% first President of theUnited States was %% George %% Washington.” In this embodiment of theinvention, the “%%” characters could be utilized to indicate a keyword.In such embodiments of the invention, a separate “Keywords” column isnot needed because the keywords are identified in the “Answer.”

The last table in the database shown in FIG. 1B is the “UserPart” table.This table can be used to store information related to users' activitiesrelated to taking a Lock-In Training part. This information, combinedwith the information stored in the “UserSessions” table, can be utilizedto allow student users to resume their training at the question, round,part, and session where they previously stopped training. The tableincludes a primary key, “UserPart,” and thirteen columns. The first twocolumns, “UserID” and “PartID,” are foreign keys. The third column,“DayNum,” can store information relating to the user's training dayactivities. For example, if the user has completed the first trainingday of a part, then “DayNum” could be one. Similarly, if the user hascompleted the first and second training days of a part, then “DayNum”could be two. The next two columns, “StartTime” and “EndTime,” could beutilized to store the start and end times of a user's part trainingactivities. These columns could also be utilized to determine if a userhas complied with a session's “LockoutPeriod” requirement. The table'ssixth column, “RoundNum,” can store a student user's current round. Forexample, “RoundNum” could be zero if the student user is in anIntroductory round. Similarly, “RoundNum” could be one if the studentuser is in a Retention round. In some embodiments of the invention,“RoundNum” could also indicate the number of “Retention” rounds that auser has taken. For example, if the student user has completed the firstRetention round, then “RoundNum” would be one. Similarly, if the studentuser has completed the third Retention round, then “RoundNum” could beset to three. The seventh column, “QNum,” can store a student user'scurrent question number. “RoundNum” and “QNum” can be utilized todetermine a student user's location in a particular Lock-In Trainingpart so that the user can efficiently resume training at that location.The eighth column, “Retries,” can store the number of times a studentuser retried each question in an Introductory round or a Retentionround. Thus, “Retries” could be utilized to determine the relativedifficulty levels of various questions. The ninth column, “Hints,” canstore the total number of times that a student user utilized a hint toanswer a question in a round. The tenth column “CompFinish1,” can storethe Retention round number in which a student successfully answered aquestion without a hint in that round. Similarly, the eleventh column,“CompFinish2,” can store the Retention round number in which a studentuser successfully answered each question a second time without a hint inthat round. The twelfth column, “Timeouts,” could store the time periodsince the user has entered any information into the user computer 105.The final column, “Cancelled,” could indicate that a user's part hasbeen canceled because, for example, the user's “Timeouts” exceeded apredefined time period.

Some embodiments of the computer program 145 may utilize multipledatabases to store the above information, while other embodiments of thecomputer program 145 utilize only one database, such as the database 155shown in FIG. 1B, to store such information.

5.7 Functions Performed by Lock-In Training Website 5.7.1 Logging inUsers

One function that the Lock-In Training Web site 110 may perform islogging in users into the Lock-In Training Web site 110. For example,the Lock-In Training Web site's computer program 145 and Web Server 140may serve a login Web document to a user computer 105. The login Webdocument may request a user to enter a username and a password. Afterthe user enters a usename and a password into the user computer 105, theuser computer's Web browser 120 transmits the UserName and the passwordto the Lock-In Training Web site 110. After the Lock-In Training Website 110 receives the UserName and password, the computer program 145compares the usename and password to data stored in a database. Forexample, the computer program 145 may compare the usename and passwordto values in the “UserName” and “Password” columns of the Users table inthe database shown in FIG. 1B. If the username and password are notfound in the database, then the Lock-In Training Web site 110 may serveanother login Web document to the user computer 105.

On the other hand, if the username and password are found in thedatabase, then the computer program 145 may retrieve user informationfrom the database, such as for example, “UserType,” “FirstName,”“LastName,” “ResetPW,” “Registered,” “Email,” “Phone,” “Address,”“City,” “State,” and Zip” values from the “Users” table.

5.7.2 Registering Users

If the information retrieved from the database indicates that the useris not registered, then the computer program 145 may serve a Webdocument, such as Web document 200 shown in FIG. 2, to the user computer105. Web document 200 allows a user to enter the user's e-mail address,phone number, street address, city, state and zip code. The informationentered by the user is then typically stored in a database, such as forexample in the “Users” table of the database shown in FIG. 1B. Inaddition, after the user has entered the above information, data wouldtypically be stored in the database 155 indicating that the user hasbeen registered.

In some embodiments of the invention, the graphical user interface ofWeb document 200 may be based upon data stored in a database. Forexample, if a user's “ClientID” is Starbucks, the “Client Profiles”table of the database of FIG. 1B may be accessed, using the Starbuck's“ClientID.” As a result, the computer program 145 can retrieve one ormore graphic images, image locations, background images, custom colorschemes, custom fonts, custom font sizes, custom text, and/or othergraphical user interface elements that are unique to Starbucks. Then,the graphical user interface of Web document 200, and optionally otherWeb documents, may include some or all of the retrieved graphical userinterface element(s). Similarly, if the user's “ClientID” is IBM, thenthe graphical user interface of Web document 200 and following Webdocuments may include graphical user interface elements that are uniqueto IBM.

If the information retrieved from the database indicates that the userhas not previously reset the user's password, then the computer program145 and the web server 140 may serve a Web document, such as Webdocument 300 shown in FIG. 3, to the user computer 105. Web document 300allows a user to enter and confirm a new password. If the two enteredpasswords match and optionally meet certain password criteria, such aspassword length, number of unique character sets in the password,password quality, etc., then the entered password can be stored in thedatabase. In addition, data would typically be stored in the databasethat indicates that the user's password has been reset. Some embodimentsof the invention store the password in plain text. However, otherembodiments of the invention store the password in an encrypted formatto increase the security of the password. As shown in FIG. 3, Webdocument 300 may also display previously entered user information. Someembodiments of the invention also allow the user to correct or updateany displayed user information.

For the convenience of the user, some embodiments of the inventiondisplay a Web document, such as Web document 400 shown in FIG. 4, thatdisplays the student name, username, and password. Using the printer 130attached to user computer 105, this Web document may be printed andsecurely stored by the user.

In some embodiments of the invention, the computer program 145 and theweb server 140 serve a Web document, such as Web document 500 shown inFIG. 5, that provides the user with a background and an overview of theLock-In Training process. Similarly, in some embodiments of theinvention, the computer program 145 and the web server 140 serve a Webdocument that displays the terms-of-use of the Lock-In Training Website. In such embodiments of the invention, the user may be required toclick on a button indicating that the user has read and agreed to theterms-of-use before the user is allowed to take any training courses. Insome embodiments of the invention, the Web document that displays theterms-of-use also lists relevant patent numbers that cover variousportions of the Lock-In Training Web site and other proprietaryinformation.

5.7.3 Selecting Courses

Another function that the Lock-In Training Web site 110 may perform isselecting Lock-In Training courses. For example, the Lock-In TrainingWeb site's computer program 145 and Web server 140 may serve a Webdocument, such as Web document 600 shown in FIG. 6, that allows a userto select a particular Lock-In Training course. The Web document mayinclude a number of objects. For example, Web document 600 includes a“Presidents of the United States (2 Sessions, 43 Questions)” object thatcould be selected by a user to indicate that the user desires to take aLock-In Training course relating to learning the Presidents of theUnited States. Similarly, Web document 600 includes “Governors of theStates (3 Sessions, 50 questions)” and “Largest Cities in Texas (1Session, 10 Questions)” objects.

In some embodiments of the invention, the list of Lock-In Trainingcourses displayed in Web document 600 would be determined by retrievinginformation from a database. For example, the computer program 145 couldretrieve the course names from the “User Courses” and “Courses” tablesshown in the database of FIG. 1B. The retrieved courses could then beinserted into a Dynamic HTML Web document by the computer program 145,which would then be served to user computer 105.

Some embodiments of the invention also indicate to the user the statusof Lock-In Training courses. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if a userhas previously completed a Lock-In Training course, as indicated in a“Completed” value in a “User Courses” table, then a check icon 610 couldindicate the status of the course. Similarly, if a course is available,as indicated in an “Activated” value in the “User Courses” table, thenan unlocked padlock icon 620 could indicate the status of the course.Likewise, if a course is unavailable, then a locked padlock icon 630could indicate the status of the course. A course may be unavailablebecause a user has recently completed another course or another session.In some embodiments of the invention, the time that a user has completeda prior session or course is stored in the database. In addition, insome embodiments of the invention, the database stores a lockout periodfor each course and/or each session. If the time that has elapsed sincethe user completed a prior session or course is less than the lockouttime, then a course may be unavailable.

In some embodiments of the invention only courses having a certainstatus would be included in the Web document that was served to theuser. For example, some embodiments of the invention would only includeavailable courses in Web documents. In other embodiments of theinvention, which serve Web documents that include unavailable courses,if the user selects an unavailable course, then a Web document is servedthat includes an error message explaining that the course is notavailable and, optionally, the reason for the course's unavailability.Similarly, in some embodiments of the invention, if the user selects acompleted course, then a Web document containing (a) a messageexplaining that the course has been completed and/or (b) a messageasking if the user would like to review the course material.

5.7.4 Selecting Sessions

Another function performed by some embodiments of the invention isselecting a session. After the user has selected a Lock-In Trainingcourse, such as the “Presidents of the United States” course, thecomputer program 145 could retrieve course, session, part, and questioninformation from database table(s). For example, the sessions of thecourse, the number of parts in each session, and the number of questionsin the session could be retrieved. In addition, the number of trainingdays that the user has completed for each session and the total numberof training days for each session could be retrieved. Further, thestatus of the session (available, unavailable, or completed) may beretrieved. After retrieving the above information, the computer program145 and the Web server 140 could serve a Web document, such as Webdocument 700 shown in FIG. 7, that allows the user to select a session.The Web document may include a number of objects. For example, Webdocument 700 includes a “Presidents of the United States before theCivil War” object and a “Presidents of the United States after the CivilWar” object. By clicking on one of the above objects, the user couldselect a Lock-In Training session. In addition to the two sessionobjects, Web document 700 includes a “Return to Main Menu” object. Ifthe user selects that object, then the Lock-In Training Web server 140and computer program 145 could serve a Web document, such as Webdocument 600, that allows the user to select a Lock-In Training course.

Some embodiments of the invention also indicate to the user the statusof Lock-In Training sessions. For example, if a user has previouslycompleted a Lock-In Training session, then a check icon could indicatethe status of the session. In addition, if a session is available, andhence unlocked, then an unlocked padlock could indicate the status ofthe session. Similarly, if a session is unavailable, then a lockedpadlock could indicate the status of the session.

A session may be unavailable because a user has recently completedanother session or another course. In some embodiments of the invention,the time that a user has completed a prior session is stored in thedatabase. In addition, in some embodiments of the invention, thedatabase stores a session lockout period for each course and/or eachsession. If the time that has elapsed since the user completed a priorsession is less than the session lockout time, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 36, or 48 hours, then the session may beunavailable.

Similarly, in some embodiments of the invention, the number of sessionsthat a user has either begun or completed within a predetermined timeperiod is stored in a database. If the number of sessions begun orcompleted within a predetermined time period, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 36, or 48 hours, is greater than apredetermined number, such as 1, 2, 3, or 4, sessions, then new sessionsmay be unavailable to the user.

In some embodiments of the invention only sessions having a certainstatus would be included in the Web document that was served to theuser. For example, some embodiments of the invention would only includeavailable and completed sessions in Web documents. In some embodimentsof the invention, which serve Web documents that include unavailablesessions, if the user selects an unavailable session, a Web document isserved that includes an error message explaining that the session is notavailable and, optionally, the reason for the session's unavailability.For example, if a user has completed two sessions in the last 24 hoursand the user selects another session, then a Web document may be servedthat includes an error explaining that the user must wait a day to takeanother session because the user has already completed two sessions inone day.

5.7.5 Introductory Round

After a user has selected a Lock-In Training session by clicking on asession object, the computer program 145 can query a database todetermine if the user had previously completed a portion of the session.If the student user had previously partially completed a Lock-InTraining session, then the computer program 145 may retrieve informationthat identifies the last part and the last round in which the studentuser answered a question. In addition, the computer program 145 mayretrieve information identifying the last question that the student useranswered. Then, using the retrieved information, the computer program145 and the Web server 140 may serve a Web document that allows the userto continue the user's training session in the same part, round, andquestion that the student user utilized when the student user ceasedtraining. Thus, for example, if a student user stopped a prior Lock-InTraining session while working on a particular question in a particularpart and round, then the student user could resume the session at thatsame question, part, and round.

On the other hand, if the student user had not previously completed aportion of a session, then the computer program 145 and the Web server140 may serve an HTML Web document or a Dynamic HTML Web document, suchas Web document 800 shown in FIG. 8, which allows the student user tobegin the user's training session. As shown in FIG. 8, Web document 800presents the student user with the current session title, “Presidents ofthe United States before the Civil War,” and the current session number,“1.” In addition, Web document 800 presents the user with the currentand total number of parts and the current and total number of questionsin the current part. Further, Web document 800 informs the user that theuser is currently training in an “Introductory Round.” As discussed inSection 5.5, the purpose of the introductory round is to introduce theuser to the material that the user will be learning.

Web document 800 also includes one or more elements that present theuser with a question: “Who was the first President?” Similarly, Webdocument 800 includes one or more elements that present the user with ananswer: “The first President was George Washington.” Notice that “first”and “George Washington” are displayed in a bold font in Web document800. The bold font is utilized to indicate that “first,” “George” and“Washington” are keywords. As discussed in Section 5.5, keywordsindicate the essence of an answer. Thus, by learning the keywords of ananswer, a user will have learned the answer. In some embodiments of theinvention, Web document 800 identifies the keywords by using a differentfont color, a different font size, a different font style (bold, italic,underline, etc.), and/or a different font family (Times Roman, Arial,etc.) than are used for non-keywords in the answer. In some embodimentsof the invention, Web document 800 identifies the keywords by placing agraphic object around or near the keywords, such as a box or an oval. Tocontinue the Lock-In Training session, the user would typically selectthe “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object. Alternatively, the user couldselect the “Return to Main Menu” object to return to Web document 600.

If the user selects the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object, then Webdocument 900 shown in FIG. 9 could be displayed on the computer displayof the user computer 105. Web document 900 presents the first questionand the complete first answer to the student user. However, Web document900 also presents a partially completed first answer to the studentuser. In some embodiments of the invention, as shown in FIG. 9, thepartially completed first answer replaces the keywords with continuousunderlines. In other embodiments of the invention, the keywords arereplaced with non-continuous underlines. Thus, “first” would be replacedwith “______.” The advantage of utilizing non-continuous underlines isthat the non-continuous underlines provide the user with a small hint:the number of characters in each keyword. Thus, a user seeing “______”would understand that the keyword contains 5 characters. In someembodiments of the invention, non-continuous underlines are utilizedonly in the Introductory round, while continuous underlines or nounderlines are utilized in the Retention rounds.

Next, the student user enters the keywords into the user computer 105using the completed answer as a guide. In some embodiments of theinvention, the student user types characters into a keyboard attached touser computer 105. In other embodiments of the invention, the userutilizes a mouse to select keys that are displayed on a simulatedkeyboard on a computer display. In still other embodiments of theinvention, the student user utilizes a number pad to enter the keywords. For example, a user may type “4” to enter “G,” “44” to enter “H,”and “444” to enter “I.” The use of such keyboards to enter charactersmay be particularly useful when the user computer 105 is a telephone. Instill other embodiments of the invention, the student user would enterthe keyword via a tablet and handwriting recognition software and/or viaa microphone and voice recognition software. Regardless of the methodutilized to enter information, the student user would enter “first” intothe user computer 105. FIG. 10 presents a Web document 1000 into whichthe user has entered “first.” In some embodiments of the invention, Webdocument 1000 identifies the entered keywords by using a different fontcolor, a different font size, a different font style (bold, italic,underline, etc.), and/or a different font family (Times Roman, Arial,etc.) than are used for non-keywords in the answer. In some embodimentsof the invention (not shown), the Web document could identify theentered keywords by placing a graphic object, such as a box or an oval,near or around the keywords.

Next, the user would typically enter the keyword “George.” However, ifthe user enters an incorrect character, such as “r” for the firstcharacter of the next keyword, then as shown in Web document 1100 inFIG. 11, the incorrect character “r” may be displayed by using adifferent font color, a different font size, a different font style(bold, italic, underline, etc.), and/or a different font family (TimesRoman, Arial, etc.) than are used for correctly entered characters. Forexample, a Dynamic HTML Web document may display incorrectly enteredcharacters in red, and may display correctly entered characters in blue.As shown in Web document 1100, the character “r” is displayed in anitalic bold font while correctly entered characters are displayed in aregular bold font. In addition, as shown in Web document 1100, when theuser has entered an incorrect character, the Dynamic HTML Web documentcould display an error message, such as “Check the spelling, letter, ornumber.”

In some embodiments of the invention, only one incorrect character willbe displayed. Thus, after a user types “Thomas” for the keyword“George,” then the Web document would display “s______” because only thelast incorrectly entered character would be displayed. However, in otherembodiments of the invention, 2, 3, 4, 5, or all incorrect characterscould be displayed. Thus, if all incorrect characters were displayed,then after the user enters “Thomas” for the keyword “George,” the Webdocument would display “Thomas.”

In some embodiments of the invention, the Web document would displaycharacters that are entered for a keyword in a predetermined combinationof upper and lower case characters regardless of the case of the enteredcharacters. For example, if a student user enters “GEORGE” for thekeyword “George,” then the Web document would display the enteredcharacters as “George.” Similarly, if the student user enters“Washington” for the keyword “Washington,” then the Web document woulddisplay the entered characters as “Washington.”

In other embodiments of the invention, when a user has correctly entereda character of a keyword, depressing the backspace and/or the deletekeys does not remove the correctly entered characters. However, in otherembodiments of the invention, depressing one or both of those keys wouldremove the correctly entered characters from the user computer'sdisplay.

In some embodiments of the invention, the student user is required toenter a space between key words. Thus, the student user would berequired to enter a space between “George” and “Washington.” However, inother embodiments of the invention, the student user would not berequired to enter a space. Thus, in such embodiments of the invention,the student user could enter “georgewashington” and the Web documentwould display “George Washington.” Similarly, a student user may not berequired to enter a space between “first” and “george” in Web document1100.

In some embodiments of the invention, a student user can “jump” betweenkeywords. For example, if a user desires to type “first” and then“Washington,” but not “George,” then the student user could type“first[Tab][Tab]Washington.” The [Tab] characters would allow thestudent user to skip over the second keyword. Similarly, after typing“first” the student user could utilize the mouse to select the firstcharacter in the third keyword. Allowing a student user to enter theinformation that the user knows and then using that information to enterthe remaining keywords can increase the long-term retention of thestudent user.

After a user has correctly entered all the keywords in an answer, then,as shown in Web document 1200 in FIG. 12, the Dynamic HTML Web documentmay display a message indicating that the user has correctly entered thekeywords. In some embodiments of the invention, after a user hascorrectly answered a question, a database in the Lock-In TrainingWebsite 110 is updated to indicate the successful answer, together withthe current part, round, and session. In other embodiments of theinvention, this information is stored on a cookie on the user computer105. This information, regardless of whether it is stored on the Lock-InTraining Web site 110 or the user computer 105, can be utilized to allowthe student user to easily resume training at a later time.

As shown in FIG. 12, after the successful answer of a question, a “Press‘Enter’ to Continue” object is displayed. This object allows the studentuser to continue the student user's training. A student user wouldtypically then select the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object.

After the user selects the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object, a Webdocument, such as Web document 1300 shown in FIG. 13, could bedisplayed. Note that Web document 1300 displays the first question andan incomplete first answer. Web document 1300 does not include acomplete answer as did Web document 1200. Instead, Web document 1300includes a “Hint” object.

The “Hint” object provides the user with one or more hints to enable theuser to easily enter the keywords. For example, in some embodiments ofthe invention, such as shown in FIG. 14, if the user selects the “Hint”object a single time, the Web document would display the first characterin each keyword. In some embodiments of the invention, such as shown inFIG. 15, if the user selects the “Hint” object a second time, the Webdocument would display the first character in each keyword and theconsonants in each keyword. Similarly, if the user selects the “Hint”object a third time, the Web document would display all the keywords.

The above description includes three hints: the first letter of eachkeyword, the consonants of each keyword, and the complete keywords.Other embodiments of the invention may include fewer or more hints. Suchhints could include:

1) First character in the xth keyword, where x increases with eachselection of the “Hint” object;

2) Consonants in the xth keyword, where x increases with each selectionof the “Hint” object;

3) Complete xth keyword, where x increases with each selection of the“Hint” object;

4) Vowels in all keywords;

5) Vowels in the xth keyword, where x increases with each selection ofthe “Hint” object;

6) First xth letters in one or more keywords, where x increases witheach selection of the “Hint” object;

7) Every xth keyword, where x is 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6;

8) Complete or partial image hints, where the image is associated withone or more keywords (For example, an image of George Washington wouldbe associated with the keywords “George Washington”);

9) Complete or partial sound hints, where the sound is associated withone or more keywords (For example, an audio segment “Fourscore and sevenyears ago” played via the user's computer speakers would be associatedwith the keywords “Abraham Lincoln”);

10) Replacing no underlining of keywords or continuous underlining ofkeywords with non-continuous underlines; and

11) Replacing no underlining of keywords with continuous underlining ofkeywords.

Some embodiments of the invention would automatically display one of theabove hints if the student user enters a certain number of incorrectcharacters. For example, if a student user enters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, or 9 incorrect characters, then the Web document will display a hint.Similarly, if the student user enters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 incorrectcharacters, then the Web document will display another of the abovehints.

Some embodiments of the invention continue to display prior hints whensuccessive hints are displayed. However, other embodiments of theinvention display only a limited number of prior hints, such as 1, 2, 3,or 4 prior hints. In still other embodiments of the invention, no priorhints are displayed. In addition, in some embodiments of the invention,the order of hints can vary. Thus, in such embodiments of the invention,selecting the “Hint” object of a particular question will not alwaysdisplay the same hint. In still other embodiments of the invention, theorder of hints for particular questions is stored in a database. Thus,hints may be optimized for particular questions. For example, the orderof hints could be stored in a “Questions” table in the database shown inFIG. 1B.

In some embodiments of the invention, the user cannot advance to otherquestions unless the user has correctly entered the keywords in theanswer to a current question without using any hints. In otherembodiments of the invention, the user cannot advance unless the userhas correctly typed in the keywords using less than 2, 3, 4, or 5 hints.In still other embodiments of the invention, the user cannot advanceunless the user has correctly typed in the keywords x times withoutusing any hints, where x is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. As shown in FIG. 16, aftera student user has correctly entered the keywords without using a hint,whether requested by selecting a hint object or automatically generatedbecause of incorrect entries, Web document 1600 displays an indicationthat the student user has correctly answered the question. In addition,Web document 1600 displays a “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object.

In some embodiments of the invention, when a student user selects the“Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object, the student user advances to asecond question in the Introductory round. Thus, Web documents similarto Web documents 800 through 1600 will be displayed for the secondquestion. In some embodiments of the invention, the information requiredto generate the Web documents for a second question, such as “Questions”table information, will have been downloaded to the user computer 105before the user selects the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object of FIG.16. Thus, the responsiveness of the training system will be optimized.After the student user has correctly answered the second question therequired number of times with less than the required number of hints,then, similar Web documents for the remaining questions in the part willbe displayed. After the user has completed all the questions in thepart, then the student user will have completed the Introductory roundfor that part. If the Lock-In Training session contains another part,then Web documents similar to Web documents 800 through 1600 will bedisplayed for the questions in the other part(s). After the user hascompleted all the questions in all the parts, then the student user willhave completed the Introductory round.

5.7.6 Retention Round

After the student user has completed the Introductory round, then thestudent user may continue to the Retention rounds. While the purpose ofthe Introductory round was to introduce the material to the studentusers, the purpose of the Retention rounds is to lock-in the materialinto the student user's long-term memory. In some embodiments of theinvention, a retention round begins by the computer program 145 and theWeb server 140 serving a Web document, such as Web document 1700 shownin FIG. 17. Web document 1700 informs the student user that the user hascompleted the Introductory round and has begun the Retention rounds. Inaddition, Web document 1700 provides the student user with therequirements to complete the Retention rounds. In some embodiments ofthe invention, the completion requirements are obtained from a database.For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the completion requirements may beanswering each question twice without using the hint button. Thus, if astudent user utilizes a hint for a question in a Retention round, thenthat question will be included in a future Retention round. On the otherhand, if a student user has answered a question twice without using ahint, then that question will not be included in future Retentionrounds. The student user will continue taking Retention rounds untileach question has been answered twice without using any hints. In otherembodiments of the invention, the requirements of completing theRetention rounds may be answering each question a different number oftimes, such as 1, 3, 4, or 5, without using any hints. Similarly, inother embodiments of the invention, the requirements of completing theRetention rounds may be answering each question a predetermined numberof times using less than a predetermined number of hints, such as 1, 2,3, 4, or 5.

After a student user has reviewed Web document 1700, then the user wouldtypically select the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue” object. Then, thecomputer program 145 can query a database to determine if the user hadpreviously completed a portion of a Retention round. If the user hadpreviously completed a portion of a Retention round, then the computerprogram 145 may retrieve information that identifies the location thatthe student user stopped training. Then, using the retrievedinformation, the computer program 145 and the Web server 140 may serve aWeb document that allows the user to continue the user's trainingsession. Thus, for example, if a user stopped a prior session whileworking on a particular question in a particular Retention round on aparticular day of training, then the user could begin the session atthat same question, round, and training day.

On the other hand, if the user had not previously completed a portion ofa Retention round, then the computer program 145 and the Web server 140may serve a Web document, such as Web document 1800 shown in FIG. 18,which allows the user to begin the user's Retention rounds. As shown inFIG. 18, Web document 1800 includes an element that presents the userwith the current session title, “Presidents of the United States beforethe Civil War,” and the current session number, “1.” In addition, Webdocument 1800 presents the user with the current and total number ofparts. Further, Web document 1800 informs the user that the user iscurrently in a “Retention Round.” Web document 1800 also includes a“Hint” object. The “Hint” object provides the student user with one ormore hints, as did the “Hint” in the Introductory round.

Unlike the Web documents utilized in the Introductory round, Webdocument 1800 includes a dynamic process bar 1810. The dynamic processbar 1810 can indicate the completion status of the Retention rounds. Forexample, the Retention rounds' completion criteria may be to answer eachquestion two times without the use of a hint. For such a completioncriteria, a dynamic process bar could indicate that (1) a question hasnot been answered without a hint, (2) a question has been answered oncewithout a hint, and (3) a question has been answered twice without ahint. Similarly, if the Retention rounds' completion criteria is toanswer each question three times without the use of a hint, then adynamic process bar could indicate that (1) a question has not beenanswered without a hint, (2) a question has been answered once without ahint, (3) a question has been answered twice without a hint, and (4) aquestion has been answered three times without a hint.

Referring to FIG. 18, the dynamic process bar 1810 includes sixteendifferent circles. Each circle has a number directly above the circlethat corresponds to a question number. Thus, the circle with “1” aboveit corresponds to question one. The pattern within the circlecorresponds to the status of the question. As shown on the bottom leftof FIG. 18, a circle pattern with lower-left to upper-right linesindicates that a question “has not been answered without a hint.”Similarly, as shown on the bottom center of FIG. 18, a circle patternwith horizontal and vertical lines indicates that a question has been“answered once without a hint.” Likewise, as shown on the bottom rightof FIG. 18, a circle pattern with diagonal crossing lines indicates thata question has been “answered twice without a hint.” Thus, because allof the circles in the dynamic process bar 1810 have patterns withlower-left to upper-right lines, the dynamic process bar indicates thatnone of the sixteen questions have been answered without a hint. Thedynamic process bar 1810 can also indicate the current question number.For example, the disk that surrounds circle “1,” indicates that thecurrent question is question one.

FIG. 19 presents a Web document 1900 with another dynamic process bar1910. This dynamic process bar 1910 indicates that questions one throughsix have been “answered twice without a hint.” The dynamic process bar1910 also indicates that questions seven through ten have been “answeredonce without a hint” and that questions eleven through sixteen have “notbeen answered without a hint.” In addition, the dynamic process bar 1910indicates that the current question is question “10.”

While the dynamic process bars of FIGS. 18 and 19 utilize differentpatterns within circles to indicate question status, other graphicalelements could be utilized. For example, different colors of solidcircles or circle sizes could indicate question status. Similarly,different graphical shapes, such as rectangles, squares, quadrilaterals,triangles, or ellipses, could be utilized to indicate question status.Similarly, text within a graphical shape could be utilized to indicatequestion status. For example, a circle surrounding a “1” could indicatethat the question has been answered once without a hint and a circlesurrounding a “2” could indicate that the question has been answeredtwice without a hint.

Web document 1900 includes two confirmation images 1920 and 1930. Theseconfirmation images 1920 and 1930 could correspond to a Retention roundcompletion requirement of answering a question correctly twice withoutusing a hint. Confirmation image 1920 indicates that the student userhas answered the current question once without using a hint. Theconfirmation image 1930 indicates that the student user still needs toanswer the question without using a hint one additional time.

After a student user has completed a Retention round in which the userutilized a hint to answer a question, a Web document, such as Webdocument 2000 shown in FIG. 20, allows the student user to review thestudent user's progress toward completing the Retention rounds. Forexample, the Retention rounds' completion criteria may be to answer eachquestion two times without the use of a hint. Thus, element 2010provides the student user with the number of questions that have beenanswered once without a hint. Similarly, element 2020 provides studentusers with the number of questions that the student user has answeredtwice without a hint.

Web document 2000 also allows the student to review the student'sprogress in the last Retention round. As shown in FIG. 20, Web document2000 contains a “Results for Round 2” chart 2030. This chart 2030contains an entry for each question answered in the last Retentionround. The chart 2030 contains an entry for sixteen questions. Thus, thelast Retention round included sixteen questions. The chart 2030 alsocontains a question status indicator for each question. A star indicatesthat a question was answered without a hint and an “X” indicates that aquestion was answered with a hint. As shown in FIG. 20, Web document2000 also contains a dynamic progress bar 2040.

In some embodiments of the invention, a student user may reviewquestions by selecting either the question number or the question statusindicator in the chart 2030. Thus, for example, if a user selects thestar 2050 with a mouse, for example, then a Web document, such as Webdocument 2100 shown in FIG. 21, could be displayed on the user computer105. Web document 2100 allows the student user to spend time learningthe answer to question one before beginning Retention round 3. After thestudent user has completed reviewing question one, then the user canredisplay Web document 2000 by selecting the “Press ‘Enter’ to Continue”object of Web document 2100. If the student user desires to reviewadditional questions, then the user may select other question statusindicators. When the student user has reviewed the desired questions,and is ready to take the next Retention round, then the student usercould select the “Press ‘Enter’ for Next Round” object. Then, thestudent user could answer the remaining questions (with or withouthints).

After the student user has completed the third Retention round, then, insome embodiments of the invention, the student user can review thestudent user's progress in that round by reviewing a Web document, suchas Web document 2200 shown in FIG. 22. This Web document indicates thattwo questions have been answered without a hint once and that eightquestions have been answered without a hint twice. Note that chart 2230only includes question numbers and question status indicators forquestions seven through sixteen. Questions one through six are notincluded in the chart 2230 because the prior Retention round did notrequire the student user to answer those questions as those questionshad already been answered twice without hints in the first two Retentionrounds. The chart 2230 indicates that the student user answeredquestions seven and eight without a hint in the last round. Thus, thestudent user is making progress toward the completion of the Retentionrounds.

Typically a student user would continue taking Retention rounds untilthe student user has met the Retention rounds' completion criteria.

After the completion of the above-described rounds, the student userwould typically take additional parts, sessions, or courses.

5.8 Training Methodology

As discussed in Section 5.5, the purpose of the Retention rounds is tohelp the student user lock-in material into the student user's long-termmemory. Thus, the Retention rounds utilize repetition to efficientlytrain student users. However, the repetition that is emphasized isrepetition by the student and not by a teacher. It has been found that astudent is more likely to retain material if the student repetitivelyenters answer keyword(s) into a computer as opposed to hearing a teacherrepetitively provide the answer. In addition, it has been found thatrequesting a student to enter complete answers takes significantly moretraining time than requesting the student to just enter the keywords ofan answer.

It has also been found that students are more likely to retain materialif the answer contains keywords of the question and well as keywords ofthe answer. For example, a student is likely to retain the answer to“Who was the first President of the United States?” if the studententers the underlined keywords in the following answer: “the firstPresident of the United States was George Washington.” On the otherhand, a student it not likely to retain the name of the first Presidentof the United States if the student enters the underlined keywords inthe following answer: “George Washington.” While entering such keywordsmay allow the student to retain the name of a United States President,it will not likely help the student retain the name of the firstPresident of the United States.

A Lock-In Training session typically includes up to twenty-fivequestions. Similarly, a Lock-In Training part typically includes up toten questions. However, the number of questions can vary above thosevalues. As shown in FIG. 7, the session entitled “Presidents of theUnited States before the Civil War” includes sixteen questions. Thus,that session may include only one part of sixteen questions. However,that session could possibly contain two parts of eight questions each.Smaller numbers of questions are often appropriate if the material ismore complex. Similarly, larger numbers of questions are oftenappropriate if the material is less complex. In some embodiments of theinvention, a client administrator or a system administrator determinesthe number of questions in each part and then stores such information ina database, such as the database shown in FIG. 1B.

It has been found that student users can efficiently retain materialwhen they enter answer keywords into a computer in spaced intervals. Astudent is less likely to retain material if the student enters keywordsinto a computer in rapid succession. However, if time intervals areinserted between the entering of keywords, then the student is morelikely to retain the material. The time intervals need not be too smallor too large. Thus, by selecting an appropriate number of questions in apart, the efficiency of training can be increased.

In other embodiments of the invention, intervening events are utilizedto increase the time intervals between the entering of keywords.Examples of such intervening events can include: reading material;watching a movie; listening to audio; viewing an image; or attending toan event occurring between successive questions. As a result, someembodiments of the invention utilize intervening events between questionanswers. For example, after entering keywords to answer a firstquestion, the user computer may display a short movie, output a shortaudio stream, and/or display one or more images to the user. In suchembodiments, the student user may not be permitted to enter additionalkeywords until the movie and/or audio stream has terminated. Similarly,in some embodiments of the invention, the user may not be permitted toenter additional keywords until a predetermined period of time haselapsed, such as for example, 30 seconds or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,or 10 minutes.

Because the time period between answering questions should not be toolong, a Lock-In Training part that contains fifty questions is notlikely to lead to long-term retention. The decreased retention resultsfrom the fact that the time period between the entering of keywords to aparticular question is too long.

In addition to careful selection of the number of questions in eachpart, the training environment should be structured, if possible, tocontrol the time intervals between questions. Recall that the timeintervals need not be too large. If the training environment includestoo many distractions, such as telephone calls, emails, pager pages,and/or conversations, then the efficiency of training may decrease.

One advantage of the Lock-In Training system is that no tests arerequired at the completion of training. It has been found that if astudent user successfully completes a properly configured Lock-InTraining course, as discussed in Section 5.9 below, then the studentuser will have learned the material in the course. Thus, there is noneed to require the student user to take a separate test. By eliminatingthe testing requirements, student users are likely to be more relaxedand have increased long-term retention of the material.

Another advantage of the Lock-In Training system is that slow learnerscan take as much time as they need to take Lock-In Training courses. Inaddition, fast learners can spend only as much time as they need to takethe courses. However, regardless of the time taken to complete theLock-In Training courses, both the slow learner and the fast learnerwill have learned the course materials.

Still another advantage of the Lock-In Training system is that thesystem allows student users to efficiently relearn any materials thatthe student user may have forgotten after taking a Lock-In Trainingcourse. For example, if a student user has forgotten the 2^(nd)President of the United States, then the user could retake theIntroductory round and/or the Retention rounds of a “Presidents of theUnited States” Lock-In Training course to rapidly relearn the 2^(nd)President. The time to retake a Lock-In Training course to relearnforgotten material is a fraction of the time that it takes to initiallytake the Lock-In Training course. Thus, the student user can rapidlyrelearn the needed material.

5.9 Training Days

Section 5.8 discussed how spaced repetition within a Lock-In Trainingsession increases long-term retention of material. Long-term retentioncan be further increased by spaced repetition of sessions. For example,answering questions on a first day, then re-answering the same questionson second and third days has been found to increase long-term retentionof the answers. Thus, as discussed in Section 5.6, some embodiments ofthe invention allow a client administrator or a system administrator toenter the number of training days that a student must complete in aLock-In Training session or course.

Thus, in order to compete a Lock-In Training course, a student user maybe required to answer the same questions on 2, 3, 4, 5 or more days. Insome embodiments of the invention, the days must be consecutive.However, in other embodiments of the invention, the days need not beconsecutive. In such embodiments of the invention, consecutive trainingsessions may be required to be completed within a predetermined numberof days, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or more days, to count toward thecompletion of a Lock-In Training course.

In some embodiments of the invention, each training day is configuredsimilarly. For example, if a client administrator enters informationinto a database that requires three identical training days, thenstudent users may be required to take an Introductory round andsuccessfully complete the Retention rounds on each of the three days.Similarly, a student user may only be required to successfully completethe Retention rounds on each of the three days.

In other embodiments of the invention, the training days are configureddifferently. For example, a student may be required to take anIntroductory round and successfully complete the Retention rounds on thefirst training day. Then, on the second, third, and forth training days,the student user would only be required to successfully compete theRetention rounds.

By configuring the number of training days and the requirements of eachtraining day, a client administrator or a system administrator canoptimize the configuration of a Lock-In Training course.

5.10 Stand Alone Embodiments of the Invention

The above embodiments of the invention utilize a user computer 105 thatis coupled to a Lock-In Training Web site 110 via a communications linksuch as the Internet or an Intranet. Such embodiments of the inventionare particularly useful for corporate and government training in whichthe Lock-In Training courses are configured by client administratorsand/or system administrators.

Another embodiment of the invention is a stand along computer systemthat allows a student user to take a Lock-In Training course withoutbeing coupled to another computer. One example of such a computer systemis shown in FIG. 23. The computer system 2300 shown in FIG. 23 includesa computer 2310. Examples of such computers include personal computerscurrently manufactured by Dell Computer Corporation, InternationalBusiness Machines, Hewlett-Packard Company, and Apple ComputerCorporation.

The computer 2310 includes a conventional audio system 2320. The audiosystem 2320 is operable to convert a digital data stream into an analogelectrical signal that can be output by a speaker, such as a computerspeaker or a headphone. Because of the significant size of digital datastreams, such streams are commonly compressed and stored in compressedaudio streams. Such digital data streams, whether compressed oruncompressed and whether stored in memory or on a disk drive, will bereferred to as “audio streams.” The audio system 2320 also includes theability to convert audio electrical signals from a microphone (notshown) into a digital data stream. This digital data stream can beprocessed by voice recognition software executing on computer 2310.

The computer 2310 is coupled to one or more input devices such as amouse 2330 or a keyboard 2340. The computer 2310 may also usealternative input devices such as touch screens, touch pads, and/ormicrophones (not shown). The computer 2310 may also be coupled to adisplay device such as a computer monitor 2350. Other computer systemsmay not be coupled to a display device. For example, such a computersystem may output information to a user via a speaker 2360 and/or aprinter 2370.

The computer 2310 can also be coupled to one or more speakers 2360. Thespeakers 2360 may be stand-alone computer speakers such as are commonlyutilized with desktop computer systems. Alternatively, the speakers 2360may be integrated into the computer 2310 as is common with modern laptopcomputer systems. In addition, the speakers 2360 may be headphonespeakers that are typically worn by a user. The speakers 2360 areoperable to convert an electrical signal, which is output from thecomputer 2310, into audible tones.

The computer 2310 may also include a number of other subsystems that aretypical in modern computers. For example, the computer 2310 may includea network device 2375, such as an Ethernet card or a modem, that isoperable to transfer data to and from other computer systems and/orservers. In addition, the computer 2310 may include one or more programstorage devices, such as Random Access Memory (RAM) 2380, a floppy diskdrive 2385, a hard disk drive 2387, a CD disk drive 2390, and/or a DVDdisk drive 2395. Additional program storage devices include flash memory(not shown), floppy disks (not shown), CDROM disks (not shown), and DVDdisks (not shown). Each of the above program storage devices can beutilized to store computer programs, databases, audio streams, movies,and/or images. In some embodiments of the invention, the computer 2310is running a Windows operating system, a Unix operating system, a Linuxoperating system, or an Apple operating system.

In some embodiments of the invention, one or more program storagedevices store a computer program. The computer programs may bedownloaded from other computer systems via network device 2375 or may beincluded in program storage devices, such as floppy disks, flash memory,CDROM disks, or DVD disks, that are inserted into the computer 2310.

The computer programs may include or reference one or more Lock-InTraining courses, each of which may include a number of sessions, parts,questions, and answers. In addition, the computer programs may includeor reference movies, audio streams, and/or images to ensure appropriatetime intervals between question answers. The computer programs includecomputer instructions, that when executed by computer 2310, allow theuser to take one or more Lock-In Training courses, each of which includeone or more Introductory rounds and/or Retention rounds. Thus, thecomputer programs, when executed by the computer 2310 typically displaycomputer screens, such as those shown in FIGS. 2 through 22 on thecomputer monitor 2350. The computer program may generate and/or displayWeb documents. Alternatively, the computer program may display windowsthat have similar functionality without using HTTP protocols. Forexample, the computer program may be a Microsoft Windows based C++program that utilizes DirectX or OpenGL graphics routines to displaytext and graphics on computer monitor 2350.

The computer programs may also receive information from the user via themouse 2330, the keyboard 2340, or another input device, such asmicrophone, number pad, or touch pad, and update computer screens inresponse to the received information. For example, if a user enterskeywords via the keyboard 2340, then the computer program receives thekeywords and updates computer screen displays in response to thosekeywords. As a result, the user can select and take Lock-In Trainingcourses at the computer 2310 when the computer 2310 is not connected toany other computer.

In some embodiments of the invention, computer 2310 may storeinformation related to the student user's training activities. Thus, thestudent user can utilize such information to confirm the student user'straining activities. For example, after completing a Lock-In Trainingcourse, the student user may provide a file that contains some or all ofthe information stored in the “User Course,” “User Sessions,” and “UserPart” tables of the database shown in FIG. 1B to the student user'steacher. Alternatively, computer 2310 may send such information to theteacher's computer or website via network device 2375. After reviewingthe information, the teacher can confirm that the student usersuccessfully completed the assigned Lock-In Training course(s).

The computer 2310 is not required to have a Web browser. However, if thecomputer 2310 does include a Web browser and a network device 2375, thenthe computer 2310 could replace the user computer 105 in the Lock-InTraining system shown in FIG. 1A.

5.11 Other Embodiments of the Invention

In some embodiments of the invention, student users may be required totimely enter personal information to insure that the student, as opposedto another individual, is taking the Lock-In Training course. Forexample, the student user may be requested to enter the student user'sbirthday when taking an Introductory round. Similarly, the student usermay be requested to enter the student user's mother's maiden name whentaking a Retention round.

In still other embodiments of the invention, the computer program mayutilize biometric identifiers during training to insure that thestudent, as opposed to another individual, is taking the Lock-InTraining course. For example, a computer program could take a digitalpicture of the student user using a digital camera (not shown) when thestudent user is entering in keywords. Similarly, the student user couldbe requested to periodically place the student user's finger in afingerprint reader. In addition, the digital images could be utilized toensure that the student is not copying answers from another source ofinformation in the Retention rounds.

5.12 Conclusion

The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention havebeen presented for purposes of illustration and description only. Theyare not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention tothe forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations willbe apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. For example, while theabove description utilized questions and answers that included onlywords, the Lock-In Training system could be utilized with graphics,symbols, numbers, and/or sounds. For example, a question for anelementary school student could be to make the sound that corresponds toa graphic image of a cow. The student could then successfully answer thequestion by making a “mooing” sound into a microphone attached to a usercomputer. Similarly, the answer to a question could include words otherthan English words and/or symbols, such as “!” and “@.” Additionally,the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention.

The above descriptions of embodiments of the present invention includewords such as “first,” “then,” and “next.” These words indicate asequence of acts. Many of the sequences can be modified within the scopeof the invention. Thus, unless the result of a first act is required fora second act, then the language indicating a sequence should not beconsidered to be a limitation to the invention. Similarly, the phrase“for example,” is intended to be illustrative and not limiting.

Many of the numerous embodiments described above can be combined to forma very powerful training system. Such combinations are intended to bewithin the scope of the invention. For example, combining an Internetbased Lock-In Training system with a standalone Lock-In Training systemwould provide a powerful training system.

While the invention has been described above with reference to certainpreferred embodiments of the invention, these embodiments have beenpresented by way of example only, and are not to limit the scope of theinvention. Accordingly the scope of the present invention is defined bythe appended claims.

1-39. (canceled)
 40. A program storage device, the program storagedevice containing computer readable instructions, that when executed bya computer, perform the following acts: retrieving a keyword, whichforms a part of an answer to a question in a training course, from aprogram storage device; retrieving a word, which is not a keyword andwhich forms a second part of the answer to the question, from theprogram storage device; and generating a Web document for use in atraining course, the Web document including an answer to the question,the answer including the keyword and the word, the keyword being in afirst font and the word being in a second font.